Public Invited to Comment on Flood Maps for Communities in Chambers County, TX

DENTON, Texas –After working together for months to create new preliminary flood maps, Chambers County and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials want to hear from the public about preliminary flood maps for multiple communities in Chambers County.

Homeowners, renters and business owners in Anahuac, Baytown, Beach City, Cove, Mont Belvieu, Old River and the unincorporated areas of the county should look at the preliminary flood maps so they can better understand where flood risks have been identified. Anyone who has comments or who would like to file an appeal has until June 9, 2014 to do so.

An appeal is a formal objection to proposed base flood elevations or flood depths, Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) boundaries and zones, or floodways. Appeals must be based on technical data that show proposed maps to be scientifically incorrect. Anyone who makes an appeal must include the method, data and analysis used to support the claim. A comment is an objection to a base map feature change such as labels, incorrect roads, jurisdictional boundaries, or any other non-appealable change.

Comments and appeals should be sent to FEMA through the local floodplain administrator. Anyone who has not had a chance to participate in local flood insurance meetings or to review the new flood maps can contact their county or community floodplain administrator. Comments and appeals should be sent to FEMA through the local floodplain administrator. Other resources include:

Once all comments and appeals are resolved, FEMA will notify communities of the official date that the final maps will go into effect.

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